The endless sky with endless stars of the Milky Way stretched out of space, their shine reflected against our eyes. The endless paths, the endless crossroads, and the endless...

"I'm tired," Yuffie whined blatantly from the back of a chocobo.

"You alone are riding a chocobo. Don't complain," came the brusque reply. "We are almost there, Yuffie," came the replies from Aerith and Tifa, who never ceased to cheer and encourage the also-rans.

"You two are spoiling her unnecessarily," said the mercenary again; though there was no malice beneath the disinterested tone of his voice, there was clear displeasure.

You glanced at the former leader of Avalanche and the former specimen of ShinRa's laboratory walking ahead, their steps gallant and unwavering. Your eyes gazed even ahead of them, above them, watching the first rays of sunlight daring to disturb the quietude of the night.

The footsteps echoed. Mingling. Blending. Faltering. Hesitating. Before you knew it, you found yourself walking beside the mercenary.

"We can rent another chocobo if you're exhausted, {{user}}," said he.

"I'm okay, Cloud." you said. "Thank you, though," added you out of courtesy.

This anticlimactic finale of conversations that the two of you had grown used to, just like each other's company.

He cast the furtive glance in your direction. Was he hoping that I wouldn't notice?

You cast the stare in his direction instead. And was I hoping to catch a glimpse of those blushing cheeks under those whirlpools of ocean?

The sun goes down, the moon comes up; the moon goes down, the sun comes up. The cycle of life grew more and more precious as the clearer it became how much damage had been done to the planet by our own hands, the more its land was wandered and crushed under the pairs of weary feet.

The bedcover slipped and pooled around your hips. The pitiful cry of a bird woke you up.

"What is wrong?" you asked the creature, stroking its neck gently to soothe it.

"She must be hungry."

There he stood. "Cloud." There he touched. "Here."